Reflex with conical type back



Sept. 12, 1939.

.1. L. KOUBEK 2,172,660

REFLEX WITH CONICAL TYPE BACK Filed Jan. 24, 1936 2 0/717 C Koue/a Patented Sept. 12, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE John L. Koubek, Anderson, Ind, assignor to General Motors Corporation, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Delaware Application January 24, 1936, Serial No. 60,565

1 Claim.

This invention relates to light reflecting means of the autocollimating type in which incident light is reflected back toward its source and the reflecting means appears to be illuminated.

It relates more specifically to reflecting means used in various signs such as danger signs, advertising signs, etc., that lie adjacent a highway and upon which the rays from the headlights of cars would fall and be reflected back thus causing illumination of the sign or signal and its visibility to the approaching cars. They are widely termed reflex means or buttons. This construction is somewhat similar to that shown in my copending applications Serial No. 60,564 filed January 24, 1936 and Serial No. 60,566 filed January 24, 1936 (Patent No. 2,131,629, issued September 27, 1938).

An object of my invention is to provide reflex means of high efliciency which reflect a high percentage of the incident light.

It is a further object of my invention toprovide a reflex means having a short major axis for space economy.

It is a still further object of my invention to provide a single unitary part capable of reflecting the incident rays.

Figs. 1, 2 and 3 illustrate a side elevation, bottom plan view and a perspective view respectively of a reflex element illustrating one type of my invention.

In Fig. 1 the main body of the reflex element is designated by 2, formed of transparent or trans lucent material, preferably glass. The rear surface or portion away from the light source is formed in this instance by a right angled cone 4 and the forward surface is formed of a cylindrical surface 6 the axis of the cylinder being diagonally across the member 2 from one corner to the other as shown by the axial line 8 in Fig. 2. As the light from any source strikes upon the forward surface 6, the light rays are converged and proceed through the body of member 2, which is usually formed of glass, to the inner surface of the conical portion 4 where it is reflected across and sent back and out of the forward face of the 5 member 2 along the general line of its incidence.

If it is desired to improve the reflecting properties thereof, the rear surface of the conical portion may be covered with silver to improve the reflecting properties. 10

These members or buttons may be applied in any suitable supporting structure to form any desired configuration such as, to illustrate, curves in the road or various alphabetical lettering. The face or front surface of the member is formed 5 by a convex curved member the action of which is to concentrate the rays incident upon the face thereof and the rear portion is formed of substantially straight sides which reflect the rays proceeding through the body of the member and send back rays along the line of the incident rays.

I claim:

In a reflecting device, a substantially solid translucent block quadrangular in cross section, a single right angular conical section integral with one end of the block and covering substantially the entire face thereof, and a portion having a cylindrical surface curved about a diagonal of the quadrangle forming the opposite end of the device, said portion having the cylindrical 30 surface being spaced from said conical section a distance such that light rays parallel to the axis of the device and lying in a plane at a right angle to the axis of the cylindrical surface and passing through the cylindrical surface are reflected by the surface of the conical section and focused substantially at a point lying on the axis of the conical portion.

JOHN L. KOUBEK. 

